An Open Letter to Jimmy Carter

We at CAMERA have been outspoken in our criticism of the many factual errors and distortions about Israel in your book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, as well as in various Op-Eds and media appearances. We've been greatly concerned that false allegations you've made damage Israel, promoting misunderstanding, enmity and prejudice against that nation and its people.

It is against this backdrop that we sincerely welcome your recent letter to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in which you ask forgiveness from the Jewish community for statements that may have stigmatized Israel. As you may know, in Judaism the process of repentance also entails action to reverse any harm caused.

In this spirit, we urge you to join your promising words with concrete actions to redress troubling false statements you have made only recently about the Jewish state. In a Nov. 6, 2009 Op-Ed in the International Herald Tribune entitled "Goldstone and Gaza" you made false and exaggerated charges concerning the UN's Goldstone report on the Gaza conflict. You referred erroneously to the "destruction" of 40,000 homes in Gaza and claimed "several hundred thousand homeless people suffered through last winter." You refer to the "destruction of hospitals" and claim the Gaza Strip is "surrounded by an impenetrable wall." You claim "the Goldstone committee examined closely the cause of deaths of 1,387 Palestinians who perished. . . "

All these statements are factually false and contribute to inflaming negative perceptions of Israel. Efforts to redress the errors via communication with IHT editors failed with their saying you have refused to correct the false statements. We do hope you'll set the record straight and affirm your commitment to undo any wrongful stigmatizing of Israel. Below is the factual detail corroborating our concerns

about the errors made:

• Israel did not destroy 40,000 Palestinian homes.

Al Mazen Center for Human Rights, a pro-Palestinian NGO, recently issued a report called "Cast Lead Offensive in Numbers" in which it found that 2,632 houses were destroyed beyond repair and 8,522 were assessed as repairable. The latest UN figures are 3,600 homes beyond repair and 2,700 homes that sustained major damages. The Goldstone Report provides additional sources including the Palestinian NGO, Al-Dameer-Gaza, that cites 2,011 civilian and cultural premises as destroyed, of which 1,404 were houses that were completely demolished and 453 partially destroyed or damaged. Even the Arab League's report on Cast Lead states: "Over 3,000 homes were destroyed and over 11,000 damaged." There is no credible report that comes near your charges.

•There was no "destruction of hospitals."

Along with the World Health Organization and the Arab League, other international and Palestinian sources confirm that while there were hospitals damaged in the Gaza Strip, none were destroyed. The January 22-23 report by the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that four days after the cease-fire, hospitals were running at full capacity to treat the wounded. The report states:

Hospitals continue to function at full capacity as many injured patients remain hospitalized, with the result that hospitals have been unable to resume regular services such as elective surgery. Post-surgical physiotherapy is provided in Shifa hospital. Most repair work to the Al Quds Hospital in Gaza City, which was shelled on 15 January, has been completed and the facility is now functioning again.

• "Several hundred thousand" people were not made homeless, spending the winter in tents and caves and under plastic sheets.

A January 21-27, 2009 report by the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of

Humanitarian Affairs, issued just days after the end of the Gaza fighting found that

"Tens of thousands of Gazans remain homeless, with most staying with relatives or other host families." A Jan. 16-20, 2009 report, also by OCHA, stated: "As of late 20 January, 18,035 people remained in 30 shelters, down from 29,421 people on 19 January." Thus, the U.N.'s figure for those displaced last winter is one-tenth or less of the number you posit. Of those displaced, most stayed with relatives and not in tents, caves or plastic sheets.

• Gaza is not "surrounded by an impenetrable wall."

While a concrete and steel wall does separate Gaza from Egypt, a fence made of metal wire, posts and sensors separates Israel from the Gaza Strip. The fence has been penetrated many times, including when Palestinian gunmen crossed into Israel and kidnapped Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit and killed two of his comrades.

• The Goldstone Report did not examine "closely the cause of deaths of 1,387 Palestinians."

The report identified by name only a small fraction of the 1,387 reported fatalities, and certainly did not "closely" examine the "cause of deaths" of that total. Again, we hope your conciliatory words are indicative of a true change of heart in which Israel is no longer subjected to unwarranted and false criticism. We urge you to take the concrete step of correcting the wrong and distorted statements about Israel in your recent column in the IHT.

Thank you for considering this request and, perhaps, setting the stage for a new beginning.

Let me get this straight, this is the same peanut farmer with the alcoholic brother who handed out axe handles to rednecks in Georgia. Carter is one of the main (but not only) reasons I voted for the "other fellow".

(22)
Anonymous,
March 28, 2010 9:47 PM

He needs to go back to being a Peanut Farmer

That's all he's good for.

(21)
Anonymous,
January 18, 2010 8:48 PM

I thank CAMERA for exposing the erroneous comments made by former President Carter. Thank you AISH for publishing this commentary. CAMERA kept it's complaints factual, not personal. It is sad that Carter's gross exagerations stain his reputation as a fair and honest spokesman for the cause of peace. Please come clean President Carter, and be as forceful in your retractions as you were in your false accusations!!! Please express your sincerity by refusing to encourage acts of terrorism by your careless words.

(20)
leah,
January 10, 2010 4:31 AM

Carter is such an anti-semite-nothing new there!

Unfortunately, Carter gets all this positive press from
his work with Habitat for Humanity and not enough
press about his scary beliefs.

(19)
Mike Lampard,
January 5, 2010 11:19 PM

Carter is an idiot!

Carter is an idiot and lost any credibility in my eyes for what he has persistently said regarding israel. Unfortunately, the world is full of them and more fool us for giving them house room by electing them to office. In the Uk we have more than our fair share of idiots: look at Galloway for example.carter is not quite as bad as that piece of garbage. We all have to suffer for these clowns!

(18)
Beverly Kurtin,
January 1, 2010 10:20 PM

Sigh...

I pity Carter sometimes, he is obviously suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Like many others before him, he listens ONLY to what the Arabs say and does not bother to check out the veracity of his statements.
Being a long-time Jew-hater is a disease he acquired as a Southerner in the bad old days.
I had the misfortune of living in Atlanta when he was governor of Georgia less than a decade after the civil rights revolution took place. He is stuck in those days and like so many of his co-religionists he refuses to change his outlook.
As I said previously, I pity the guy; it is a terrible thing to have a brain and not use it. Sigh...

(17)
Steven,
December 31, 2009 4:55 PM

If President Carter;s apology was sincere...

If President Carter's apology was sincere and he in fact aknowledges that he made false statements in his book, then he would pull it off the market. The fact that he won't leads believe that he is just making the apology for political reasons and not because he actually means it.

(16)
Anonymous,
December 30, 2009 4:58 PM

Jimmy Carter correcting his erroneous statements.

Jimmy Carter correcting the erroneous statements in his book would be like retrieving a ton of feathers after a hurricane.

(15)
Anonymous,
December 30, 2009 9:48 AM

Carter stays the same

I agree with many comments above. Carter will never change his attitudes regarding Jews and Israel. He was a failure as President of USA, paving the way for Reagan and many years of Republican rule in USA. Even if very few nay listen to him today, it is important that CAMERA and others put things right. He was probably liked in Europe and by Soviet Union because he was too weak even at home.

(14)
howard yagerman,
December 28, 2009 7:10 PM

Look for the Tell

JimmyCarter's grandchild is running for Congress in a heavely Jewish district in the suburbs of Atlanta.Need I say anything more.

(13)
Anonymous,
December 28, 2009 12:01 PM

Is change ever possible?

Mr. (ex-President) Carter has throughout the years, expatiated at length about the monstrosity that is Israel, and particuliarly Jews. I am not embracing cynicism as perspective, nor as the inevitable consequence of experience.
However, erring on the side of caution, is a wise habit. there have been many cases in human history and daily lives when individuals for a variety of reasons, experience a drastic change within for a variety of reasons. Given Mr. Carter's history of virulently misrepresenting our Community, and Israel,it must be a matter of record that his pronouncements be taken as his own wholehearted viewpoint which has actively guided his actions. That his words now reflect a complete reversal of earlier positions he vehemently ascribed to, in my opinion, means that only his actions will provide proof of his chage of heart. For this, Mr. Carter will have to, in my view, "do" something extraordinarily in keeping with his "eureka moment" since as an elder person, his is very limited time to undo some, of the grave harm he has caused us. His actions would need to be on a scale, which he may not be prepared to adress. His is a huge dilemna. I do not wish to judge anyone's change of heart as phone, but reparation is necessary and he may have simply run out of time.
On the other hand, Mr. Carter may be a shameless anti-semitic opportunist who so overvalues his own "psychopathic mindset," that it does not occur tohim that actually, We do Not ascribe to the Victim mentality when seeking reparation or Justice.

(12)
Anonymous,
December 28, 2009 6:40 AM

WHY IS JIMMY CARTER IMPORTANT?

I don't understand why any amount of energy, words or thought is put to responding to Jimmy Carter? Over whom does he have influence?

(11)
RESC,
December 28, 2009 12:57 AM

Carter is senile

Why would any person of sound mind listen to James Carter. He resides in a world all his own liken an Alice in Wonderland. Humor him and avoid him.

(10)
David S. Levine,
December 27, 2009 9:59 PM

A Cheap Nonsincere "Apology"

Jimmy Carter is a lowlife. His anti-Semitic roots were given away by his mother who actually said that as a girl she was an avid reader of Tom Watson's "Jeffersonian" newspaper, the very newspaper which spurred on the lynching of Leo Frank. (That the Jewish leadership never picked up on this is an indication of its incestuous relationship with the Democ-rat Party.) He will not do any of the things urged by Ms. Levin in the article. He wrote his "apology" because his grandson is running for office in a district with a large Jewish population. He has no credibility and his family should be kept from public office for a thousand generations.

(9)
Kiva,
December 27, 2009 9:00 PM

Too Late

The damage has already been done. The minds of millions have been shaped. The best thing Carter could do is retire and go live in Gaza I doubt his sincerity anyway. I read that one of his grandson's is thinking of running for office and does not want Carter's besmirched reputation to interfere with his chances. Carter's conniving modus operandi is more along those lines.

(8)
Dr. Gene Goon Thd.,
December 27, 2009 5:30 PM

A senile old man with a little g_d syndrome!

A senile old man who accomplished nothing as President (except giving away the posessions of the US) and is still trying for a Legacy. He is being used by Rabid Liberal Left to keep their agenda alive. By keeping the focus on the Middle East, the people of the World (especially the US) are not watching the Liberal Left as closely as they should! I believe that we should Pray that G-D would take Mr. Carter out of the spot light and out of his misery. The poor old man is really a joke. Like a bad pill. Mr. Carter is hard to take. For a man that says that he is a Christian and continues to attack the chosen people of G_D makes no sense to me.
GG

(7)
J. L.,
December 27, 2009 5:11 PM

Carter

In order to change what former prewsident Carter is/was will require more than the action by you or I. Unfortunaely even more and more we become aware of just who the friends of Israel really are.
It is not carter or the obama
Will keep praying for Israel and the USA

(6)
Zvi Symons(jimmy),
December 27, 2009 4:50 PM

Good G d Your right

Dear Andrea, Thanks for a really good open letter to all who read it.Will X.P jimmy C read it?

(5)
P. Peltz,
December 27, 2009 4:37 PM

Well said and documented

You have truly delineated the guide for genuine teshuva. I am anxious to see if carter is "for real." Don't hold your breath. First class job. Kudos to A. Levin and to CAMERA

(4)
Anonymous,
December 27, 2009 4:14 PM

did he respond?It's his fault there is a war in Afganistan because he fought along side Osama Binladin when they were distroying the infidel Atheist Communism when it was a self declared Marxist republic that had asked for the soviet unions support during it's civil war in the ,because he is a Muslim sympathiser?..and now Afganistani Taliban are trying to distroy America the infidial
How did u get his contact details?-i need Barak Obamas admin's and Hilary Clinton's-this administration does not respond to letters sent to the white house by the public!!!!Some one please send my some contact details for them where it will actually get read by somene,please!!!!

(3)
Marsha Braunstein,
December 27, 2009 2:40 PM

Carter will not change

Jimmy Carter will never change his anti-semitic behavior. His blatant prejudice shows clearly that he is an enemy of Israel and the Jewish people. He reminds me of Haman.

(2)
Anonymous,
December 27, 2009 2:22 PM

Excellent Essay

I understand that the former president's grandson Jason Carter will soon announce his candidacy for political office in a heavily Jewish district in Georgia. If the former president heeds Ms. Levin's advice, we will know that his "repentance" is sincere. If not, then it is merely a ploy to help his grandson.

(1)
Rich Vail,
December 27, 2009 2:06 PM

Mr. Carter Will Never Forgive Jews

He is only trying to "reconcile" because his grandson is now entering politics in a Georgia Senate district that has a large jewish population. Mr. Carter will never forgive Jews for the "betrayal" of supporting Ted Kennedy in 1980 instead of him. Mr. Carter is a bigot and all of his actions since then have shown a deep seated hatred of Jews and Israel.